Fedor Reigns Supreme

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The so-called experts got a break Saturday night
when mixed martial arts top dog Fedor
Emelianenko(Pictures) put to rest any and all rumors of
his demise. The 36-second stoppage of former UFC heavyweight
champion Tim Sylvia(Pictures) before a sold-out crowd of 13,988
at the Honda Center testified to that fact.

Emelianenko attacked from the get-go, pummeling Sylvia with punches
and eventually knocking him off his feet. He then swarmed the
downed giant, continuously punching before taking his back and
locking up a rear-naked choke.

Sylvia tried to fight the choke. However, he said it was over his
windpipe and was very painful in addition to cutting off his
air.

“I don’t think Fedor is human,” Sylvia half-joked after the fight.
“He is by far the best fighter in the world.”

Fedor Emelianenko (right) vs. Tim
Sylvia (Photo by Dave Mandel)

Emelianenko chuckled when told of Sylvia’s comment.

“I am human and I get nervous like everyone else,” said the newly
crowned champion through an interpreter.

The much-ballyhooed showdown between Emelianenko and embattled UFC
champion Randy
Couture(Pictures) was trotted back into the
spotlight after the fight. Asked whom he wanted to fight next,
Emelianenko said Couture.

Emelianenko also cleared up questions about his health after the
fight. Seen with a wrap on his hand, he stated that it was no big
deal, that his thumb had just popped out and he had popped it back
in.

Fedor Emelianenko submits Tim Sylvia
(Photo by Dave Mandel)

“Anyone who doesn’t think that guy is the baddest man on the planet
is completely full of s---,” former UFC referee and current
Affliction broadcaster “Big” John McCarthy, in awe of Emelianenko’s
performance, told Sherdog.com.

Andrei
Arlovski(Pictures) took a leap of faith when he
parted ways with his longtime promoter, the UFC. If his performance
against former IFL standout Ben Rothwell(Pictures) is any indication, Arlovski’s
future is brighter than ever. He ran circles around a flatfooted
Rothwell throughout the first round, landing at will with a
well-choreographed assault.

Rothwell was once again under siege in the second period, but he
rallied after Arlovski gave up position by attempting an
ill-advised heel hook. From the top, Rothwell strafed Arlovski with
heavy elbows and punches and seemed to have swung the momentum in
his favor.

A brief break in the action drew a standup from referee Josh
Rosenthal. Arlovski seized the opportunity and nearly finished the
bout with an overwhelming onslaught of strikes. Trapped in the
corner, Rothwell could not escape the volley of strikes from his
foe. A flying knee, a head kick and countless punches battered
Rothwell to a pulp, and only the bell could assure him of seeing
the third round.

Andrei Arlovski (top) vs. Ben Rothwell
(Photo by Dave Mandel)

Confident and patient, Arlovski opened the third frame stalking,
searching for the optimum moment to unwind. About a minute in, he
found his opening and delivered a straight right and a right
uppercut. Rothwell was likely out with the first punch, but the
uppercut left no doubt and he fell supine to the canvas at 1:13 of
the final round.

“The game plan was to take him down,” Arlovski said. “I didn’t
think I’d get him down, but I did come back. I didn’t show my
jiu-jitsu, but I showed my boxing. I won the fight.”

Arlovski said he had felt quite a bit of pressure to win toward the
end of his UFC contract. Without those distractions, he explained,
this was the most prepared he had been for a fight.

As for his next bout, Arlovski left it up to Affliction: “I want to
fight Fedor, Josh [Barnett] or anybody Affliction chooses.”

Josh
Barnett(Pictures) scratched his seven-year itch,
avenging a knockout loss to Pedro Rizzo(Pictures) from 2001 with a knockout of his
own. It was a pinpoint left hook that sent Rizzo careening to the
mat, where he lay prone at 1:44 of the second round.

Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo (Photo by
Dave Mandel)

Referee Herb Dean(Pictures) shoved a swarming Barnett off of
the unconscious Rizzo, saving him from any unnecessary damage.

After a back-and-forth first round that saw Hominick inch ahead via
aggression more than anything, the fighters finally hit the mat
when Young scored an outside trip takedown. Hominick immediately
started cycling through submission attempts. First it was a
triangle that Young slammed his way out of, but the next triangle
led right to the armbar that ended the fight by tapout.

Renato
Sobral(Pictures) nabbed a unanimous decision over
Mike
Whitehead(Pictures) in one-sided fashion. The light
heavyweights fought at a timid pace until late in the bout. That’s
when “Babalu” turned up the fire on Whitehead, scoring with
punches, knees and kicks to remove any doubt the judges might have
had.

Whitehead, often heralded as a fighter with a ton of potential who
just can’t come through in big fights, lived up to that reputation.
He looked remiss to throw his hands, and when he finally did get
the fight to the floor, he could not do anything offensive.

Sobral won each round convincingly, but the third was the most
impressive. He landed a number of combinations and nearly garnered
a submission. The official tallies were also unanimous -- 30-27 on
all three cards.

Despite his victory, Matt
Lindland(Pictures) could not be pleased with his
performance. Fabio Negao(Pictures) took “The Law” to the limit, and
after 15 minutes both fighters looked completely spent. Lindland
looked good early, dropping Negao with a left before slapping on
his patented “choke-slam,” or in normal terms, a guillotine.

After coasting in the first, Lindland found himself in trouble in
the second. Negao landed elbow after elbow, backing Lindland to the
ropes in full defensive mode. He eventually recovered and took the
fight back to the mat. From there, Lindland punished Negao from top
position to put another round in the bank.

Matt Lindland (left) vs. Fabio Negao
(Photo by Dave Mandel)

The third round was tough to watch. Both fighters, running on E,
failed to mount much offense. Lindland did land a significant knee,
but he could not finish the fight. The judges awarded Lindland a
unanimous decision by scores of 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27.

Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira(Pictures) had very little trouble with
Edwin
Dewees(Pictures) in their light heavyweight
affair. A slow match characterized by Nogueira’s methodical pace
accelerated into a crescendo late in the first round. Nogueira got
the plum clinch and kneed away at Dewees’ midsection. Dewees
defended the body well, but when Nogueira went upstairs with a left
hand, he buckled to the canvas. It was mere seconds later that
referee Herb Dean came to Dewees’ aid and stopped the
ground-and-pound assault at 4:06 of the first round.

Vitor
Belfort(Pictures) made an impressive debut at
middleweight, taking care of Terry Martin(Pictures) in devastating fashion. After a
lackluster first round, “The Phenom” took over in the second.
Martin, who was constantly moving forward throughout the bout,
caught a flying knee on the side of the head. Belfort then
punctuated the performance with an uppercut-straight left
combination that removed Martin’s faculties 3:12 into the
round.

As Belfort ascended the ropes to soak in the accolades of the
approving crowd, Martin remained tangled in the ropes in a seated
position.

Mike
Pyle(Pictures) defeated JJ Ambrose(Pictures) by rear-naked choke at 2:51 of
the first period. Pyle easily outclassed his lesser opponent once
the fight hit the mat. He got the takedown, advanced to mount and
cinched the fight-ending submission.